India has always been a flourishing center for handicrafts long before the establishment of British Rule. Articles made by Indian Artisans had a market across the world. Can you believe the value of exports from India far exceeded the value of Imports? The rulers and wealthy traders encouraged the artisan community and helped their art flourish.

Traditional Indian handicrafts saw a decline during the Industrial Revolution. Britain started Producing Machine-made goods and textiles which were much cheaper than Indian goods. Indian handicrafts slowly died since they could not compete against cheaper products from Britain. Millions of Artisans were left Jobless. The displaced artisans returned to their villages and took up agriculture as a means of livelihood.

The traditional Industries of India thus went through troubled times, and many finally disappeared.

But after Independence, the scenario changed completely, Government Policies were designed to encourage craftsmanship and the livelihood of artisans saw a slight improvement. We can now see a lot of NGO’s come together to establish craft centers where Indian handicrafts are patronized.

Let us play our part in encouraging our craftsman and showcase our beautiful heritage.

India meets India is one such organization which is empowering rural craftsmen. They provide livelihood to lakhs of rural artisans, people from underprivileged communities, acid attack victims, visually impaired, traffic victims, etc.

A handmade combo of Sitar, Tabla and Harmonium in Mango wood:

Handmade Minature Magnetic Showpiece. They are beautiful gifts to Music lovers. It is a 3 showpiece combo gift pack (up to 7-inch sitar and 1.5-inch tabla set and 3.5-inch harmonium). Each piece is handcrafted

Anindya is a collective of artisans based in West Bengal who make an outstanding seashell craft and sea glass craft.

This includes a set of Soapdish, liquid soap dispenser, tray, and toothbrush holder. They come well packaged and since Since the product is a handcrafted item, there may be slight variations in design accuracy, uniformity, color, and size.

A beautiful ceramic drawer to store the small stuff from jewelry to desk supplies. Its vibrant colors will brighten up the dull space. Blue pottery art on ceramic clay chest at the center has an intricate design and is neatly carried out by the rural artisan of Rajasthan in India.

This meenakari art pure white marble stone desk table clock made by Indian awarded artisan community from Makrana, Rajasthan. They are carefully wrapped and packaged in a sturdy box with bubble wrap & foam for safe shipping.

Papier Mache Crafts is a traditional craft and is passed on from one generation to the next generation in a family. It is still made by hand in small home shops where the whole family sit together and engage in the art of making Papercrafts.

Papier Mache is one of the most beautiful handicrafts of Kashmir. Kashmiri craft recycles waste paper into beautiful artifacts hand-painted by expert craftsmen. Papier Mache has a long and rich tradition in Kashmir, it is a delicate decorative art which shows the artistic zeal of a craftsman.

Handcrafted showpiece made using ceramic blue pottery art. Designs are hand-painted with fine detailing by skilled artisans of India.

Give your home and office decor an elegant design with this vase. It is a fragile object; handle with care. For cleaning lightly dust with a dry cloth. It is carefully wrapped and packaged in a sturdy box with bubble wrap and foam.

Tanjore Paintings is an art form with rich cultural significance. It has its origin way back to the 16th century in Thanjavur the temple town of Tamil Nadu. These paintings once adorned the Palace walls and temples.

Credit needs to be given to the Chola and Maratha Kings who patronized this art form and ensured that this tradition flourished during their time.

Made meticulously using traditional methods, these paintings require a painstakingly long process of sketching, stone insertion, gold foil overlaying, coloring, highlighting and framing.

In its original glory, we saw the use of Jackfruit wood and use of all natural colors but in today’s time, there is Teak or plywood being used along with synthetic colors for faster drying. Use of Gold foil and semiprecious stones still continues.

There are many artists who still continue the tradition learned from their forefathers but extensive training is also being imparted to students who like to pursue this art form.

Myangadi is one such place where they have taken extra care to encourage and preserve this art form. They have a team of most talented in-house artisans. They also enable shipping worldwide. You also receive a certificate of authentication from them along with the painting.

Nirmal is a little town about 70 odd kilometers from Hyderabad the capital of Telangana. Nirmal town has become synonymous with exquisite paintings all over the world.

This art form was patronized by the Kakatiya kings, Nizams, and the Mughal rulers. Most of the Nirmal paintings depict scenes from the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

In earlier days white wood from the Tella Poniki tree was used as the base for this painting. Use of Natural colors from the stone and mud obtained from the delta regions of Godavari was primarily used for the paintings. Gradually teak wood has replaced the use of tella poniki tree and synthetic colors have replaced the natural colors.

These Toys are chiseled out of locally available special light softwood locally known as Tella Poniki. Primitive carving tools are used with natural colors.

Kondapalli toys are hand-carved wooden toys made in Kondapalli village in Krishna District in Andhra Pradesh. This craftsmanship village got its Geo Indication as per Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Kondapalli dolls depict daily village life, Gods and Goddesses. They are predominantly displayed during Navratri time as Golu dolls.

Kerala Handicrafts has its own distinct and unique space in the Indian handicraft market. Most of Kerala’s crafts are associated with its festivals and traditions. Use of natural products like coconut shells, bell metal, wood, coconut coir, Cora grass, cane and buffalo horn can be seen in their artifacts.

Every district in Kerala is famous and known for its art forms like Ernakulam and Idukki are known for bamboo crafts.

Bell metal craft is mostly practiced in Alappuzha, Thrissur and Kannur districts. Thrissur is also famous for its wooden elephants. Wayanad is famous for its Natural fiber crafts.

Nettipatam is a Kerala traditional item used to decorate the Elephant head during Festivals.

Punjab is famous for its handcrafted leather Jutti or footwear, durries, phulkari dupatta, etc.

Handcrafted leather footwear from Fonsi. Hand Crafted by some of India’s finest artisans, FONSI brings to you a line of bespoke fine leather juttis, that speak of the charm of a true old school artisan with a desire to recreate high street fashion.
Please click here for pricing details.

Assam Handcrafted Bamboo Mugs:

Made with the best quality of’ “ASSAM BAMBOO” Which is durable, robust, strong and is also lightweight.

Mugs are suitably crafted with love and rigorous toils of the Workmen from the Northeastern state of India.

Dhokra Art is a unique ancient method of making metal artifacts that are created by the help of the wax-casting technique. Use of copper and ferrous casting gives these metal figurines its uniqueness. This particular art is almost 4000-5000 years old and the oldest specimen found is the dancing girl of Mohenjo-Daro.

Dhokra art gets its name from the Dhokra Damar tribes who are traditionally metalsmiths. No two Dhokra figurines are similar, the metalsmiths ensure that each sculpture is unique. Dhokra art form involves the making of a basic art form with clay and covering it with wax before etching the finer details. Next, a layer of clay is molded into which the hot metal is poured. The hot metal melts the wax and the metal takes the shape.

Manufacturing of Brass is synonymous with Moradabad. Brass an alloy of Zinc and Copper is the most adaptable metal to make Lovely Handicrafts and household Utensils.

Moradabad has more than 600 brass export units and a number of skilled craftsmen who are practicing this craft passed down from Generations. The process of making brass handicrafts requires a team of craftsmen. From Master craftsmen, engraver, enameller to the polisher.

It is believed that Brass manufacturing started in Moradabad and spread to different parts of the country. Interestingly the blooming period of brass trade happened in the early 19th century when the Britishers took a keen interest in exporting brass around the world.

These days the high prices in raw materials like brass and silver have been a huge dampener to the production of Brass artifacts. Invasion of cheap Chinese products has also not made things easy for the artisans here.

Many manufacturing units have shut shop since 2004 and the artisans have migrated to the bigger cities in search of Jobs. Loss of skilled craftsmen has made things difficult for this Industry.

Let us join hands to help this dying Industry. Let us make a conscious effort to appreciate handcrafted artifacts from our country.

The salt-pepper shaker and toothpick holder has been handmade in terracotta while the tray has been handcrafted in mango wood.

Inspired from the indigenous art of the warli tribe, the body of the salt-pepper shakers, toothpick holder and the borders of the tray have been hand embellished with their rustic paintings in miniature panels of tribal scenes that bring in the mood of celebration and happiness

it will definitely Add a Fragment of Raw Indian Tribal Culture to your Table

Tucked between the two Major cities of Bengaluru and Mysuru lies Channapatna the land of Handcrafted toys. Ivory wood, rubber, sycamore, and pine wood is used to make the toys. Vegetable dyes are used to ensure that the toys are safe for children to play.

These handcrafted toys are not manufactured in large scale but it is a small cottage industry developed in their homes where they make 50 to 70 toys a day. The influx of Chinese made toys which are manufactured on a large scale using synthetic colors has been a dampener on the Indian artisan market.

Changes are being made by the Karnataka Government and Individual organizations to revive this art form.

Maya organic has taken efforts to make innovative household products to revive this art form among others.

Pattachitra form of painting is one of the oldest and the most popular form of painting in Odisha. Mainly this art form depicts the temple of Jagannatha, Krishna Lila, the Dasabatara -the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and Panchamukhi Vinayaka,

Over the years the use of colors and the style of Painting has remained the same but the canvas has changed. The chitrakars have started to use Tussar silk, cotton and Palm leaf as canvas resulting in beautiful home decor’s.